
On Sunday, November 17, 2024, two male suspects, William Mongate (26) and Leslie Tafireyi (34), were apprehended in the Driekop policing area, Sekhukhune District, for possessing illicit cigarettes.
A traffic officer stopped a grey Mercedes-Benz with no registration number on the R37 public road. The driver refused to cooperate and fled, leading to a car chase. Police intercepted the vehicle, which had 578 cartons of illicit Remington Gold cigarettes.
A second vehicle, a white Audi VW, was found obstructing the police and was later discovered to have 100 cartons of the same illicit cigarettes. The seized cigarettes have an estimated street value of over R400,000.
The suspects appeared before the Mecklenburg Magistrate Court on Monday, November 18, 2024, and were remanded in police custody.
The suspects’ case has been postponed to November 27, 2024, for bail application and further investigations.